Gadek win no guarantee of BN recapturing Alor Gajah, says Adly

Melaka PH chairman Adly Zahari stated that voter dissatisfaction with the Barisan Nasional (BN) in Gadek was quite high due to frequent changes in its representatives. However, Adly downplayed Ab Rauf Yusoh's suggestion that BN's victory in Gadek during the upcoming state election on Nov 14 could lead to the coalition reclaiming the Alor Gajah parliamentary seat.

He emphasized that state and general elections have different dynamics, particularly in terms of voter turnout, and that the issues and voters attending elections differ. Adly pointed out that PH had previously lost Gadek to BN in the 2021 Melaka state election but secured more votes for the constituency in the 2022 general election, which was a four-cornered contest.

He also claimed that there was significant voter dissatisfaction with BN in Gadek because its representatives were often changed. BN tends to use Gadek as part of its political negotiations, and the people there might be uncomfortable with this, Adly said. He added that voters want an elected representative who can serve all communities in the constituency, and good representatives should be retained instead of frequently replaced.

Adly also mentioned that PH has fielded a relatively young candidate in Gadek and believes they have a chance of winning. Gadek, a Malay-majority mixed constituency in the Alor Gajah parliamentary seat, has seen several changes in representation, with Umno's Abdul Ghafar Atan representing it in 2004 and 2008, MIC's M S Mahadevan taking over in 2013, DAP's G Saminathan representing it from 2018, and MIC's VP Shanmugam winning it back for BN in 2021.

However, BN is now fielding a different candidate, MIC's S Nadarajah, who is facing a four-cornered contest against PH's K Jegasilan, Bersatu's B Laveen, and Putra's Laila Norinda Maon on Nov 14.